The Power of Meaningful Work

I learned early in my career how important it is to have meaningful work. I read the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl which he wrote based on his experiences surviving the holocaust. He recognized that meaning was central to the lives of all people and devoted the remainder of his life to helping others discover theirs.

People sometimes conflate career goals and meaning. To clarify, ask yourself what you like and enjoy about your current work and previous jobs. Do you like working alone or in teams? Perhaps you enjoy researching information for you and others to use. What people like they tend to repeat and do more of and what people don’t like they tend to avoid. Often our preferences are the things we are already good at. Research has demonstrated that when we do tasks we are skilled in, we get more accomplished over time. Some people call this progressing from competence to mastery, further enhancing the enjoyment of the task.

Early in my educational journey, I learned to listen with the same intensity most people reserve for speaking. I was asked to teach groups of professionals to see themselves as others saw them which consequently boosted their self-awareness and enhanced their ability to collaborate. I began to love my work because I experienced the satisfaction others received as they worked to achieve meaningful goals. This led me to begin my graduate studies in clinical psychology and as my emotionally intelligent skills advanced, I was encouraged to shift my PhD studies to the business school at UCLA to impact the effectiveness and growth of companies and their employees.

I worked with a client named Linda (not her real name). She felt underutilized as a customer service manager. In our work together, she described how in a previous job she found meaning talking with prospective customers and felt very acknowledged when prospects turned into clients. Our work together prompted her to ask her management to reassign her to a sales team. We practiced conversations so she could describe her previous successes in her past job. She is now succeeding in the sales team and is personally fulfilled by her daily work. Linda’s next goal is to become a sales manager so she can help others find meaning in their work.

Abraham Maslow described an aspect of self-actualization as continuous learning and growth. Research and my experience demonstrate that people who enjoy their work will be more successful and be physically healthier. I’m grateful every day for the opportunity to help others find meaning and satisfaction from their work and inspire others to do the same.

Please contact me for a complimentary, confidential conversation about how to find more meaning in your work.